To: DownSouth who wrote (50402 ) 11/16/1999 1:57:00 PM From: Kent Rattey Respond to of 152472
Tuesday November 16, 12:27 pm Eastern Time Company Press Release SOURCE: CDMA Development Group CDMA Development Group Lauds Landmark China-United States Agreement CDMA Seen as Enabler of Improved Communication In World's Largest Wireless Market BEIJING, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Speaking from the China CDMA '99 Summit in Beijing, the CDMA Development Group (CDG) today applauded the China-US announcement that paves the way for China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). ''The outcome of the WTO meetings is good for the wireless industry, good for CDMA and excellent for the people of China,'' said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG. ''Our members stand to benefit from yesterday's announcement as this agreement may smooth the path to faster integration of advanced wireless services into the vast and important Chinese market.'' The China CDMA '99 Summit opened with greetings and presentations by Deng Zhenyin, secretary general, China Institute of Communications; Song Zhiyuan, president, China Institute of Communications; Zhu Sanbao, deputy director general, Radio Regulatory Bureau, Ministry of Information Industry; Houlin Zhao, director, Telecommunications Standardization Bureau, ITU; and LaForge. They discussed the state of the wireless industry in China, the benefits of CDMA, and the arrival of third generation services. During the first day of the CDMA Summit, China Unicom's Zhang Fan, director-general, department of mobile communications, outlined the company's vision of its planned CDMA system. China Unicom now offers the country's second national public mobile telephone network. He summarized the reasons for the company's decision to adopt CDMA technology, including improved spectrum utilization due to significant capacity and coverage advantages, and more economical and expeditious network construction. Zhang went on to cite the user benefits critical to Unicom's choice of CDMA, including superior data capabilities, better security, low call drop rate, low transmit power, long battery life, and voice quality similar to that offered by fixed networks. Zhang went on to say that China Unicom looks forward to launching its CDMA network so it can offer first-class service and create a new brand name to better compete with international telecom enterprises. The CDMA network will enable China Unicom to continually serve additional subscribers to keep pace with the expected growth in the country and will provide an excellent platform for third generation services. CDMA will also promote the growth of the domestic manufacturing sector as the company aims to have 40 million subscribers on board by 2003. China is an exciting mobile marketplace, as the number of subscribers has grown from 3200 in 1987 to 37.6 million in September of 1999. Experts predict that number to increase to 60 million by the end of 2000 and to 180 million in 2005. ''We are pleased that CDMA will be a vital part of that growth,'' said LaForge. ''The CDG and our members are available to provide assistance/support to China Unicom as they embrace CDMA at this critical time in the history of telecommunications.'' The CDMA Development Group is a non-profit trade association formed to foster the worldwide development, implementation and use of CDMA. The 100 member companies of the CDG include many of the world's largest wireless operators and equipment manufacturers. The primary activities of the CDG include development of cdmaOne and IMT-2000 CDMA features and services, public relations, education and seminars, regulatory affairs and international support. Currently, there are more than 500 individuals working within various CDG subcommittees on second and third generation CDMA matters. For more information about the CDG, contact Christine Bock of the CDG News Bureau at +1-714-540-1030, ext. 11, e-mail chrisbock@bockpr.com, or visit the CDG Web site at cdg.org . cdmaOne is a trademark of the CDG SOURCE: CDMA Development Group